Top-boct and process for manufacturing



Nov. 5, 1929. A. A. GLIDDEN ET AL TOP BOOT AND PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURINGFiled June 11, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet Nov. 5, 1929. A. GLIDDEN ET AL1,734,478

TOP BOOT AND PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING Filed June 11, 1928 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 5, 1929 4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEALFRED A. GLIDDEN AND THODIAS lri. KNOVJLAND, OF WATEIITOWN, AND ARTHURM.

GR-EIM, OF DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIG-NORS TO HOOD RUBBER COMPANY,

OF WATERTOVJN, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS TOP-BOOTAND YROOESS FOR MANUFACTURING Application filed June 11, 1928. SerialNo. 284,302.

This invention relates to an improved top boot and process ofmanufacture.

The object or the invention is to provide a molded boot with an extendedtop, the foot and leg of the boot being composed of rubber compoundvulcanized in mold, the top being vulcanized, but not necessarilyvulcanized in a mold.

The object of the invention fruither is to provide a top boot in whichthe foot and leg portion are manufactured and vulcanized separately fromthe top portion, and then the two vulcanized members, the boot,including the foot portion and the leg portion, are joined to the topportion in a manner hereinafter se forth. The advantage secured by thiscon struetion, and by the method whereby it is secured, is that the topcan be made of one type of rubber compound and the leg and foot portionand the sole can be formed of another composition, including the rubbercompound and fabric. The top portion may be made only of rubber compoundmaterial, or a combination of rubber compound material and fabric, asmay be desired.

Another object 01" the method of this invention isto be able'to manuiactLu-e atop boot with a substantially thicker all rubber compoundtopthan has heretofore been used, which will stand up without the aid ofres tening to the belt, and this type of top also has an advantage,namely, if a man kneels and his knee engages the top portion, it willstretch, whereas the ordinary article, as heretofore manufactured, has alining which stretches very little, if any, and therefore wrinkles verybadly, these wrinkles produc ing early cracking in the top.

By the method of this invention, the finished boot has a top which iselastic and which may be madein any desired manner with any desiredcompounds, which itmay be desirable to have different from the compoundsor compositions of material forming the leg,

foot and sole portions of the boot. To these ends, therefore, the boot,including the sole, foot and'leg portions, is manufactured andvulcanized separately from the top portion of the boot and then the twovulcanized members, namely, the boot with its leg, and the top, aresubsequently joined together and vulcanized.

In addition to the advantages hereinbefore set forth and attained by ourimproved process, it will be seen that by separately manufacturing andvulcanizing the boot with its leg, and the top, the most desirablelength of time and degree ofheat can be utilized for the boot and itsleg and for the top, where the boot and its leg are composed of adiflerent compound or different composition of materials from the topas, for example, where the top is composed of a pure rubber compound andthe boot may be composed of rubber compound with fabric or othermaterials embodied therein. The length of time and the degree of heatemployed for the boot, in order to properly vulcanize it, especiallyconsidering the thickness of the sole of the boot, would be difierentfrom the time and degree of heat necessary to properly vulcanize thetop, and by ourimproved process of manufacture we can vulcanize the bootand top separa-tely and obtain the best results for both the boot andthe top in this manner, whereas, when the wholeboot including the topwas vulcanized at one operation, these results could not be attained dueto the fact, for example, that the degree of heatand length of timenecessary to vulcanize the boot with its thick sole was entirelyinadequate for the time and degree of heat required to vulcanize a topwhich, for example, might be made of pure rubber compound, in whichinstance the pure rubber compound top when subjected to the degree ofheat and for the length of time necessary to vulcanize the boot with itsthick sole would be in some cases rendered plastic to an impracticableextent and thus ruined.

The inventionconsists in the improved top boot and process ofmanufacture therefor set forth in thefollowing specification andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a blank for the boot top.

Fig. 2 illustrates the blank positioned upon a form. I

Fig. 3 is a front elevation broken away and shown in section of the boottop.

n all Fig. 4c is an enlarged sectional elevation illustrating the lowerportion of the boot top and the upper portion of the boot leg splicedtogether.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation partly broken away and shown in section ofthe boot without the top portion.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of an improved form of vulcanizer by which aportion of the process of this invention is carried into practicaloperation, the same forming the subject matter of a separate applicationSerial No. 281,384 filed May 21, 1928, entitled Vulcanizer for topboots, a portion of a boot leg and top positioned thereon and shown insection.

Fig. '4' is an end elevation of the vulcanizer. Fig. 8 is a wiringdiagram for the vulcanizer.

Like numerals refer to like parts in the several views of the drawings.

In carrying our improved process of manufacture into practicaloperation. blank 10, Fig. 1, is wrapped around a form 11, as illustratedin Fig. 2, and the edges are cemented together at 12. The boot top 13 isthus formed and is then vulcanized. After it is vulcanized it is trimmedoff to the proper height around the bottom edge 1a thereof. The bottomedge is then skived oi as at 15, Fig. 3, on the inner face thereof.

The boot- 16, comprising a foot portion 17 and a leg portion 18, isvulcanized in a heated mold as shown and described in United StatesLetters Patent No. 1,692,828, issued November 27, 1928, and subsequentlythe upper edge is trimmed and skived or buffed off on the outside as at19. Cement is then applied to the bevelled edges of the boot and thetop. The cement is then allowed to dry for about two hours and cement isagain applied thereto. The bevelled upper edge of the boot and thebevelled lower edge of the top are then placed together, cement tocement, as evenly as possible and rolled down thoroughly into con tactwith each other with a hand roller. The open end of the boot thus formedis slipped over a mandrel 20, Fig. 6, and is pulled up snugly on thetapered surface of said mandrel, the spliced portion resting on themandrel is then wrapped with a strip of cloth and the boot is thenallowed to vulcanize for about twelve minutes, the latter is thenremoved and tllQ'lOOOll is slipped off the mandrel.

Referring to Fig. 6, it will be seen that he sides 21 of the mandrel 2Oconverge and that the mandrel is oval shaped transversely thereof, asclearly shown in Fig. 7 22 is a thermometer inserted in the mandrel 20.23 and 2a are electric heating elements which preferably extend throughthe mandrel. 25 is an electric control bulb. The mandrel is supported byan elongated bracket 26 which is fastened toa suitable support 27. The

electric heating elements are heated as follows :Referring to Fig. 8, isthe vulcanizer with the converging sides 21, 21. The control bulb isconnected through a tube 29 to a Bourdon tube 30 in the thermostat 31.When the temperature of the mandrel arrives at a predetermined degree,the pressure generated by the volatile liquid in the bulb 25 istransmitted through the tube 29 to the Bourdon tube 30, which causes theouter end of the Bourdon tube to move and open a pair of electricalcontacts 32 and 33. This opens or closes the heater circuit 34consisting of a wire 35 which leads in through a fuse box 36 to thecontact 32. The other contact 33 is connected by wires 37 to the heaters23 and 2a and the electric current returns from the heater by wires 38through a switch 39 and through the fuse box 36, so that as thetemperature of the mandrel arrives at a predetermined degree the heatwill be shut off from the heating elements 23 and 24 and when thetemperature lowers these heating elements will again be supplied withelectric current through the circuit 37.

lVe claim:

1. A top boot having, in combination, a vulcanized molded foot and legportion of rubber compound, the upper end of said leg portion beingbevelled, and a vulcanized top portion of rubber compound, the lower endof the top portion being bevelled and attached to the bevelled upper endof the leg portion by vulcanizable adhesive material locally vulcanizedthereto.

2. The process of manufacturing a top boot which consists inmanufacturing a boot of rubber compound and vulcanizing the same, thentrimming the upper edge of the boot leg, then bevelling the said upperedge, and in manufacturing a boot top of rubber compound and Vulcanizingthe same, then bevelling the lower edge thereof, then attaching thelower edge of the boot top to the upper edge of the boot leg byvulcanizing adhesive material, and then locally vulcanizing the saidedges together.

3. A step in the process of manufacturing a top boot which consists inattaching the bevelled lower edge of a boot top of rubber compound tothe bevelled upper edge of a boot of rubber compound and locallyvulcanizing the said edges together.

4. A step in the process of manufacturing a top boot which consists inlocally vulcanizing together the bevelled lower edge of a boot top ofrubber comgound and the bevelled upper edge of aboot of rubber compound.

in testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

ALFRED A. GLIDDEN. THOR Iris M. KNOlVLAND. ARTHUR M. GREIM.

